E-Paper
Watch your vehicle, 12 to 14 two-wheelers are stolen daily in Pune
Improper vehicle parking, absence of CCTV in housing societies, forgetting key in the ignition and not repairing locks, reasons for hike in thefts
The Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad police commissionerate areas have seen as many as 1,830 two-, three- and four-wheeler thefts from different public places, showing an average of 12 to 14 two-wheelers being stolen on a daily basis. The thieves have been found to target brand new two-wheelers on the outskirts and suburbs of the commissionerates, and the detection rate, too, has remained low as compared to the number of vehicles stolen even as the victims have had to make several rounds of police stations, seeking investigation details of their stolen vehicles. The thieves have also been found to steal luxury cars by hacking sophisticated software of these vehicles. Juveniles have been found to steal sports bikes to carry out crimes such as chain-snatching, physical assault and attacks on rival gangs.
PCMC DCP Kakasaheb Dole said that they have arrested four suspects for their involvement in at least 15 chain-snatching incidents using sports bikes between 2021 and 2022. “Their role came to the fore when we gathered ground-level intelligence and carried out detailed analysis of CCTV footage wherein their criminal acts were captured,” he said.
Social worker Akash Ghule said, “Many people take loans and buy two-wheelers for use in their daily work. It becomes a tough task when these two-wheelers are stolen as the EMIs have to be paid despite the bikes being insured. Citizens tend to park their vehicles just outside or near their place of work and don’t think twice about the spot where they are parking. They must lock their bikes and ensure that the same are parked in a CCTV-monitored public area as there is less threat of bike theft. Also, the police must increase patrolling and the rate of detection must go up in comparison with the rising theft rate in the city,” he said.
PCMC police commissioner Ankush Shinde said that policemen are creating awareness amongst citizens about preventing vehicle thefts. “It is an elaborate process of detecting a vehicle theft and later handing over the two-wheeler to the owner. Special efforts have been undertaken to prevent vehicle thefts, and to arrest gangs of vehicle thieves,” he said.
DCP (crime) Sriniwas Ghadge said, “We are taking strong steps aimed at preventing vehicle thefts and an anti-vehicle theft squad has been pressed into action to ensure that such thefts are prevented. The residential areas mean the housing societies and slum pockets or vastis in and around the city. Residents of slum pockets do not have proper parking facilities and their vehicles remain parked on public roads or small alleys of the vastis and vehicle thieves then steal these vehicles.”
Ghadge also pointed out that housing societies located on the city’s outskirts neither employ security guards nor do they have CCTV cameras, which makes them sitting ducks for thieves to steal the two- or four-wheelers from such places. The crime branch investigation and analysis in the recent past has revealed that the maximum number of vehicle thefts were reported from zone 5 because of its much spread-out area, which also includes factors like rapid urban development. Also, vehicle thefts have been reported from zone 4 areas citing reasons such as: these areas have scores of developing projects related to commercial and housing societies. Stolen vehicles have been found to be sold in Pune rural, Marathwada, and the northern regions of the state where their spare parts are in demand at cheaper rates. The modus operandi includes dismantling the vehicle and selling the spare parts to garage owners.
